Chapter 50: From Shizu to Shizue Gremory [Bonus Chapter]

The existence of Ddraig did not scare Shizue. She felt that Zaydas was telling the truth. Unlike Ifrit, Ddraig did not try to dominate her but rather to serve her.

'A dragon... How did he manage something like this?' She was curious.

She was not naive. She had been through many battles, she had stood by the Hero's side when Veldora was sealed, and she could easily tell that the dragon inside her was by no means inferior.

Zaydas had become an indecipherable mystery to her.

However, he was different from Leon Cromwell. There was no disdain or even arrogance, even though he could accomplish something even more incredible than the so-called strongest Demon Lord. After all, how many people could grant something akin to an existence on Veldora's level without batting an eye?

At least, no one like that came to her mind...

Her thoughts were interrupted when they returned to where they had reunited with the group of three adventurers.

...

"Shizu-san, Zaydas-san, you're back!" Ellen seemed relieved, and even with her wobbly leg, she remained standing, looking happy for them. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Yes, we were worried about you," Cabal said.

"Yes, yes," Gido nodded in agreement.

"By the way, is this your face? So pretty~" Ellen said cheerfully, trying to get closer to her.

Seeing her about to stumble, Shizue stepped forward and held her hands.

"Thank you, and... My name now is Shizue, Shizue Gremory," she said, looking happy.

Ellen seemed to misunderstand something as she exchanged glances between Zaydas and Shizue. Nodding as if she had figured something out, she said, "I see, I'm happy for you, Shizue-san~"

"I'm glad to have met you all, but Shizue and I need to leave. We came to say our farewells," Zaydas suddenly said.

"Already?" Ellen seemed regretful.

"Zaydas-danna, thank you for everything once again," Gido said. "One day, we'll repay this favor. To you as well, Shizue-danna."

"Mm, have a safe journey back," Zaydas sincerely wished.

Shizue, who was suddenly hugged by Ellen, returned the embrace.

"Shizue-san, take care, okay?" Ellen said.

Shizue replied, "Mm, you too."

...

After putting some distance from that area, Zaydas said to Shizue, "Don't worry, they'll be fine. I left a bit of my aura on them—it should be enough for them to leave the forest safely."

"Thank you." She smiled slightly.

"Hold my hand. We'll teleport to a place to pick up some things before we depart," Zaydas said.

Nodding, she held his hand. Soon, she felt a strange sensation as the scenery changed in the blink of an eye, transforming into a completely different area.

...

"Fumu, fumu, so this is your new companion?" Rimuru said. "What a beautiful person."

"My name is Shizue, nice to meet you." She said calmly, unfazed by the fact that Zaydas friend was a slime.

Jumping into the air, Rimuru transformed into his humanoid form. "I'm Rimuru, the pleasure is mine." He smiled.

...

After gathering all the animals he had named, Zaydas bid farewell to Rimuru and the others.

After that, he held Shizue's hand as he said, "We will leave this time. Don't be too surprised."

"Mm." She nodded.

With a movement, all the animals connected to Zaydas by silk threads and telekinesis were pulled close, while he marked the INN near the Golden Fruit Orchard.

...

Just as Zaydas had told her, the changing scenery gave her a completely different sensation.

Looking around and seeing two moons in the sky, different from what she was used to, Shizue looked like a child visiting a new city.

"So this really is another dimension..." She murmured.

Even though she didn't know every corner of the world where she had lived for over 50 years, she could still sense the difference in the air and the atmosphere around her. The very laws seemed somewhat different—somewhat weaker.

"Yes, this is a weaker dimension." Zaydas informed her. "At this moment, we are among the most powerful beings—if not the most powerful—on this planet. As you may have noticed, the laws here are weaker, and if we use our true power... something catastrophic could happen."

"Mhm." She nodded seriously.

"Now... I need to create an area for each of these animals." Zaydas murmured. "Fortunately, they all survived."

She seemed to have heard something dangerous, but thinking about it, she hadn't felt any pain when entering this dimension.

Even though she was curious, she didn't ask much and simply stayed by his side, watching as Zaydas began removing trees, which he then started shaping to build places for the animals, such as a chicken coop, pigsty, pastures for bulls, cows, etc.

'His ability is really useful...' She thought.

After finishing everything and placing each animal in its proper location, Zaydas stretched, smiling slightly at Shizue. "Sorry for the delay. And initially, I wanted to introduce you a bit more to this dimension, but... I'm afraid I need to go to another dimension, and maybe you'll like that one even more."

Seeing him act so mysteriously, Shizue furrowed her beautiful eyebrows. "Japan?"

She didn't know why, but that idea came to her mind like a premonition. And, upon speaking it aloud, she felt her heart race, as if a part of her already knew the answer.

"Haha, yes, you got it right."

"!!" That revelation surprised her even more than the fact that he was a Devil.

Before leaving, Zaydas altered the flow of time there and telepathically informed the Rias about the animals and fish. Although he would be gone for at most 10 hours with the adjusted time flow, it was best if they became aware of what he had done.

After finishing everything, he said to Shizue, "Hold my hand."

When her hand touched his, Zaydas could feel her slight tremble.

It was understandable—she was going to a world similar to her own, even with a comparable historical timeline. Perhaps she wouldn't even notice the difference.

Marking the coordinates in his room, Zaydas used Dimensional Jump.

...

[6:29 AM, Sunday.]

Grayfia woke up early as she did every day.

The first thing she did after taking a bath and putting on her maid outfit was to check if Zaydas had returned.

When she noticed that he had not yet come back, she went downstairs.

On the lower floor, she hummed a song while preparing breakfast.

In an instant, the sound of chopping and frying echoed.

'He's back... and he's not alone.' Grayfia pretended not to notice while finishing all the preparations.

By nearly 7 AM, everything was ready, and Zaydas came down the stairs with a beautiful girl who appeared to be Japanese at his side.

The girl had long black hair and dark grayish eyes, standing at 155 cm, with a slim waist and large breasts, though well hidden beneath a white cloak with a scarf.

Grayfia could easily tell that she was the newest member of Zaydas's Peerage.

"Good morning, Zaydas-sama and..."

"Good morning, Grayfia-nee. This is Shizue, my knight." Zaydas introduced.

"Hello." Shizue said with a gentle smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Grayfia said kindly. "Since you're part of Zaydas-sama's Peerage, you may call me Grayfia or Grayfia-nee, just as he does."

"Err... Grayfia-nee."

"Very well." Grayfia said. "Breakfast is already served, eat while it's still hot. I'm going to call Asia-chan and Ravel-sama."

"Thank you for your hard work."

With a simple nod, Grayfia passed them and went upstairs.

As she climbed the stairs, she thought in surprise, 'Where did he find this girl? She's powerful...'

What she didn't know was that Shizue had been reincarnated as a Devil by Zaydas, using a single Knight Evil Piece. If she knew, how surprised would she be?

...

"What a beautiful person..." Shizue said as soon as Grayfia left.

"Isn't she?" Zaydas agreed. "Grayfia is part of the family, and although she works here as a maid, it's more of a hobby for her."

"I see." Shizue looked around curiously.

She was already quite surprised when she saw Zaydas's room, and seeing the surroundings of the house only confirmed that she had returned to Japan—even though she hadn't even stepped outside yet.

As if reading her thoughts, Zaydas gently held her hand, making her look at him.

"After we eat, I'll take you for a walk around the city." Zaydas smiled. "And... I won't say much—some things are better seen than heard from me."

"Alright." It would be a lie to say she didn't want to just skip breakfast, rush out that door, and see it all with her own eyes, but she managed to restrain herself.

...

"Hello, my name is Asia Argento." Asia said with a sweet smile.

Shizue was reminded of one of her students upon seeing Asia. Smiling back, she said, "Hi, Asia-chan, my name is Shizue Gremory."

"Gremory?"

When they heard that, everyone, without exception, was surprised.

Sighing, Zaydas said without explaining, "A lot of things happened, and she will adopt my family name. For now, I'll register her as a distant cousin who lost her family. As for her past, I won't go into details. If she wants to tell you, that's up to her."

"Understood." Everyone there was intelligent. Hearing that, they nodded.

Ravel looked at Shizue, smiling slightly, "I am Zaydas-sama's fiancée, Ravel Phenex. It's a pleasure to meet you, Shizue-san."

Seeing the hand extended toward her, Shizue shook it. "Likewise."

"By the way, everyone here is a Devil." Zaydas revealed.

Hearing that, Shizue didn't react much. She had already kind of assumed it.

...

As they began eating, Zaydas said, "Ah yes, Asia, Shizue and I are going out to visit and explore the city. If you're interested, you can come along." He looked at Grayfia and Ravel. "You two as well, if you're not busy, of course."

"I have something to do in the afternoon, sorry." Grayfia replied.

She was standing right behind Zaydas.

"I'll go~" Ravel said cheerfully.

...

The truth was that Ravel still felt shy being alone with Zaydas, but if Asia and Shizue were together, she would feel more comfortable in his presence.

Just thinking about what she did before... She blushed a little.

'No, Ravel, don't think about those things now...'

...

Zaydas noticed her blushing and raised an eyebrow, but he didn't pry and continued eating.

Later, everyone was ready. Shizue was now wearing a beautiful dark blue dress with white details and high-heeled boots of 5 cm.

"I already knew you were beautiful, but now... You look stunning, Shizue-san." Zaydas complimented.

"Really? Thank you." She replied with a slightly awkward smile, not seeming used to it.

"Yes, as they say, the right outfit transforms a woman~" Ravel said. "This dress didn't suit me, but I'm glad it looks perfect on Shizue-san."

Gently patting Ravel's head, Zaydas said, "You're adorable, you know that?"

"Hehee~" She giggled foolishly at his compliment.

Asia, seeing that, chuckled a little.

Even Shizue smiled.

"By the way, has Grayfia-sama already left?" Ravel asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes." Zaydas nodded, as it hadn't been long since Grayfia had left through a magic circle.

He had easily tracked her and knew her destination was the Underworld.

"I already called a taxi to take us to the city center." Zaydas said. "Shall we go?"

"Yes, let's go."